Griffin Chronicles
by littlefuzzball
Summary: Traitor: a person who betrays another, a cause, or any trust. He betrayed everyone but me, does that make him a traitor? You decide. ***Severus mentors Harry! Adult themes!***
1. The Start

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

Author's Note: This chapter is written from Harry's POV if that's not readily discerned. A note to those out there, I am an AMERICAN. I will use words and phrases that are popular within my circle of friends.

Also this will likely be slash, you know, gay. I haven't decided how it will pan out, the plot is still evolving.

On to the show!

~*~ Prologue~*~

They say that everything happens for a reason. Well some days I think that is true, other days it's a complete load of crap. I know what you're thinking, he's just a kid how could he know anything? Well this kid has seen more than anyone can imagine.

It started when I was just over a year old. This murdering fuck head of a half breed was after me and my family because of half a prophesy made by a fraud and reported by a traitor. Half of a prophesy isn't really anything seeing as a whole prophesy is worth about as much as dirt. But this guy was a real psycho, cracked in the head I say.

But as I said, I was just over a year old. So there we were, celebrating Halloween, as you do, and along comes the murdering fuck head. Kills my dad in a fight at the door, kills my mother while she's standing over me trying to protect me from the evil shit. Well you know what he did? He laughed. So I guess it's true that you can't have slaughter without laughter. Really, what a horrid statement; makes me giggle.

So you want to know what the murdering fuck head does next? Oh you are going to love this, he tries to not only kill me, but make me part of his quest for immortality. Sick isn't it? But lucky me; the curse doesn't work. Rebounds off the protections of love my mother left me, or so says the world's leader of the Light Albus Dumbledore. Fat load of horse shit if you ask me.

No it rebounded off my head because I'm a new or old, depending on how you look at it, breed of wizard. You see wizards didn't always use wands, and most around the world still don't. I know the Americans don't use wands. That would be a little conspicuous seeing as they are paranoid about terrorist and anything that is suspicious is watched for like a hawk to a mouse. So they use magic differently then we here in the United Kingdom and Europe as well I suppose seeing as Durmstrang and Beauxbatons teach the same curriculum as Hogwarts does.

So yeah, different kind of magic; it's not that it's really different I guess. It's more that people don't understand it. I've always done better at using magic without my wand. Hermione and I worked long hours every night to make sure that I could stand up to the pressures of being the Boy-Who-Lived. Hours spent mastering a charm or spell wandlessly so that I could perform it while waving a wand around.

Ron and I, well after I learned a bit about the Wizarding world, we well came to an agreement. We would be friends in public, because every hero needs a sidekick, and I would make sure he got to do whatever it was he wanted in life. It didn't matter what it was as long as it didn't make more work for me; so he couldn't join the Death Eaters and becoming the next Dark Lord. Other than that his options were open.

I had a different agreement with the Weasley twins Fred and George after the Triwizard tournament though. I give them money, and they keep me informed of the local gossip. It was a win-win situation.

So where was I, oh yes. Murdering fuck head killed my parents and attempted to kill me. Well Dumbledore, the high and mighty who can do no wrong, decided I would be best with my mother's sister, Petunia Dursley. Well he didn't take into consideration the fact that she, and her twisted husband, hated anything that wasn't "normal" and please, anyone could have told the wanker that I was as far from normal as it got. So thanks to Dumbledore, I grew up a freak. But that's nothing. That's just what Dumbledore was able to find out; you see the Dursley's were far worse than just treating me like a house elf and psychologically and emotionally scarring me. Oh no, that couldn't be the end of it no. Vernon Dursley, if anyone had bothered to do their homework was a sex offender. His prey you ask? Little boys, skinny, scrawny, little boys that couldn't fight back against his massively fat ass.

I think that's one of the reason's he married old ugly Petunia; because she was the closest thing to a boy he could get and still ensure he could procreate. Delightful, no?

By the time I was eight, I was my uncle whore, by the time I was ten he was making money off me, selling me to his buddies. By the time I entered the Wizarding world I was used to my lot in life and didn't fight it anymore. I knew it was wrong, but talking about it only got me starved and beaten. It was easier just to take it like a man.

My uncle's favorite phrase by the way, it was like a code. If he used that phrase I knew, without a doubt that he was going to take me down into the basement and play his twisted little games with me. His favorite was the lay me out, tie me down and then video tape himself as he raped me, as he had me suck his pathetically tiny prick.

My sick Uncle always made me choose, a beating or his prick up my ass. The sex hurt less and was easier to hide. I learned that the first time a teacher asked me about the bruises. They never asked again, and I never said anything; at least until Hogwarts.

My first week was an interesting one. No one ever informs you of routine procedures, like heath exams, when you are entering a new school. No they tell you about the things they found scary or had been made scary to them when they entered the school. Which is exactly what the Twin's did to Ron and thus Ron did to me.

So when all the new first years were called down to the infirmary by house for a routine health check, that's when I panicked. I tried to get out of it, saying that the Dursley's had gotten a physical done for me but Madame Pomfrey, she's a sly one. Somehow she already knew that there was something wrong. You see, she waited to do my check up until last. I also want to point out that I had also already had Professor Severus Snape for Potions class by the time the check up's came around so it was a huge surprise to me when Madame Pomfrey took my test results and told me to wait on the bed because she needed to confer with the sour professor. Needless to say, I was very confused at that point. Not only that but I was terrified. At eleven I wasn't nearly as candid about the situation as I am now. I never would have guessed that in just a few minutes my entire life would change and everything that I thought I knew was wrong.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Madame Pomfrey

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

Author's Note: And on to the next installment! Thanks for the reviews, they really made my day!

On to the show!

~*~ Madame Pomfrey ~*~

Every year, the first Friday after classes had started, was the exact same. Every new student admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was required to report, with the rest of their year mates by house, to the infirmary for a routine checkup. Headmaster Dumbledore humored the yearly exams she insisted upon and you could tell by his expression he felt they were as necessary as the Minister of Magic. Healer Madame Poppy Pomfrey wasn't going to back down when the well being of a child was in question though.

As it was the headmasters' indulgent attitude didn't change the fact that three out of every ten Slytherins returned to school beaten and bruised, it didn't change the fact that typically three to ten of the new students entered Hogwarts from abusive home of one kind or another. They were over looked, they weren't muggleborns and only those entering into the wizarding world mattered to a population that was killing itself. The purebloods had some of the worst reputations in the entire community, but that didn't mean that while they were at Hogwarts they weren't children and human beings to her.

In her opinion the only real reason she was even allowed to run the tests was the board of governors. She had taken her finding to them and persuaded them to allow her the freedom to do whatever she could to heal these children. A year later she was back in their esteemed presence requesting the services of Severus Snape. She had fought long and hard to make sure that any child found coming from an abusive home was giving over to her care and she had complete autonomy over them until the end of the school year. This ensured that there was little that could disrupt the lives of those damaged children. Stability gained trust, which allowed for healing.

Unfortunately she could provide her findings of abuse all day long, but unless the children themselves decided to talked to Wizarding Children Services there was nothing that could be done about the situation. It wasn't like she could petition the Service for them, she was a third rank healer, a low man on the totem pole so to speak, she would need to drag in all kinds of specialist to evaluate the child before it might be deemed that she had a sufficient case and be escalated to the proper department.

That kind of an investigation could take months set the children back in their healing months maybe years and would be just as traumatic as the original abuse more often than not. No she had gone that route before, and she wasn't about to drag any other child through the mud like that again.

So she stuck out her chin, pushed up her sleeves and fought the headmaster at every turn.

~*~

At the welcoming feast and sorting of September 1991, two incoming students had caught her trained eye as coming from less than loving homes. One was expected, pureblood Draco Malfoy, no real surprise there. Lucius Malfoy was not known for being a patient or caring man. The other, which would be a much bigger dismay to the staff, was none other than Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived.

Any abuse made her blood boil, it just wasn't right that magical folk in particular but humans in general took to harming children, but to lay a hand to harming the savior of the Wizarding world? That was unspeakable and someone should have been watching for it.

Even so, as much as it bothered her, there wasn't anything she could do differently than had been done for any other child in his shoes. The headmaster would either deny the entire possibility or merely insist that it was for the best, and while Harry may not have arrived here in the best condition he had arrived here, which was better than not at all.

No she would leave that report to Severus to make, he was much better at making sure the headmaster allowed them the time to make sure the children got the care they needed.

The headmasters' indulgent manner allowed for the fact that Severus always looked out for the children under his care. If that meant stealing them away in the dead of night then that was the price to pay. If it meant making sure there was a more permanent solution to the situation, well the man was once a Death Eater, it's not like he would blink an eye at killing a man.

Though there were lines that Severus simply would not cross for anyone. He would never lay a hand on a woman in anger, would never strike a child without good cause, and was fiercely loyal to anything that Lily Potter had cared about; including Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. If Harry Potter was safe in anyone's care it would be with Severus Snape, as long as the man could get past his dislike of the boy's father of course. Pig's had flown though, not naturally but they flew none-the-less, so it wouldn't be that terribly unlikely an occurrence.

No, there was no doubt in her mind that Harry Potter would leave Hogwarts in far better condition than the state he had arrived in. All of the students entering into Severus's mentoring program had left Hogwarts at the top of their class, with offers of high profile careers and had been highly successful in those careers. That was more a success to their program then any award could have been, though an award would look so nice sitting on her wall next to her certificate of completion to her training, the letter of acceptance to the Healer University, and the letter of congratulations she received upon successful completion of their program.

She wasn't an idiot in any case, she was well aware that her contributions to the healing of the children were minimal. She couldn't relate to them. She came from a loving family, her mother had been there every step of the way to ease hurts and encourage her successes. She and her sister had followed their father's footsteps in the medicine. Her sister worked at a small non-profit hospital in Geneva working side by side with muggles and squibs. No, there was no hardship in her past; there was never a fight to merely survive. She had never had to choose to sacrifice part of who she was merely to please someone else. She had never had to rely solely on her magic to make sure that she could meet impossible demands. But Severus had.

Severus was an only child of a very powerful empath and a muggle. His father had been a drunk from the moment Severus could remember until the man passed away when he was in University studying psychology. His mother turned to drink to cope with her empathy. She had pickled her liver by the time she was twenty five, it had been only a matter of time after that before the organ gave out on her completely and she passed away. After his mother passed away, Severus was given to his maternal grandmother. The woman was a widower and would ensure you knew it. Her husband has passed away without an heir. So she had inherited everything. She named Severus her heir and had set about making him into what she thought he should be; the perfect Pureblood heir.

Severus had the fortunate and unfortunate luck to inherit his mother's gift. He had learned better ways of managing the overly powerful gift without turning to alcohol thankfully. The man had other vices and weaknesses but not that.

Most of what the world saw from Severus was just foul moods, brooding silences and a sheer genius at potions. They couldn't see past the prickly outside. No they saw a Dark Mark, a Dark wizard and felt his scathing wit when approaching him with the mundane.

They didn't see the abused child, the devastated man who had lost the only woman he loved to another man; they didn't see the utter destruction of a person when the news of Lily Potter's murder had reached him.

They didn't see what a struggle it was for Severus, a struggle that had ended in a suicide attempt, and she hated to think what might have happened if she hadn't needed to request more potion stock for the infirmary that night, to stand back up on his feet and continue to live. She still wouldn't say he was truly living but maybe Lily's boy could help him where she had failed.

Poppy Pomfrey shook the wool from her head and turned her mind to the task of checking out Ronald Weasley, who while unremarkable in every other way, was extremely klutzy and prone to injury. Probably more so then the rest of his siblings combined; which included the infamous Charlie Weasley, who was currently a renowned dragon tamer and had played seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The stunts that boy had pulled while playing should have turned his mother's hair grey. They had almost given several people heart attacks at his sheer audacity.

No she had no business trying to heal the scars on the souls of those children; Severus was the perfect candidate for their healer. He could spot the signs of depression and was apt at circumventing those signs from escalating past a certain level of apathy for the world around them. He would listen, comfort and counsel the children without coddling them. He would force them to test their limits and push past them. He would be there day or night to talk with, as long as they didn't mind the impossibly black teaching robes or the lavender bath robe.

Without letting out the sigh of relief at having only Harry Potter left to check she set about swishing her wand in a pattern she was all too familiar with and clearly stating an incantation that would be forever ingrained in her memory. She watched as the boy's eyes widened slightly from the wash of magic that rolled over him. She then held her wand up at a slight angle to her chest and recited the spell that would give her a paper copy of the results. She scanned over the results listed, they were far more numerable then she had originally imagined, before releasing the sigh she had withheld and ordering the child to sit on the bed and not move. She stated where she was going and how long she would be until she returned and then left the infirmary at a brisk walk down into the slightly damp, slightly chilled dungeons to request the assistance of Severus Snape on the behalf of one Harry Potter.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And there you have it. I have most of the next chapter writen so that should be up sometime tomorrow evening hopefully. But I'm not quite sure where to go after that so it might be a while on chapter four.

Cheers!


	3. Severus Snape

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

Author's Note: OOC!!!! Yes I know Severus Snape is out of character, but I always thought he was portrayed a little evil like, the man has to have a heart somewhere, so I tried to make him more human. Also Poppy Pomfrey is significantly younger then was portrayed in the books as seen by the interaction between her and Severus in this chapter.

Author's Note 2: Dead or Alive for those of you who don't know was a chart topper in and from England in the early 80's. They would be considered Indie punk in today's classifications.

Also to Terrace who made a comment about me writing off Ron, just wait and see, Ron will have his moments too. I like him too. Thanks for the heads up about the commas.

To the rest of you who commented THANKS! It's fantastic to sit down and check my mail in the morning and see that you all like where this is going so far.

And off we go!

~*~ Severus Snape ~*~

It was always the same, get into the middle of anything and someone would knock upon my door. I assumed as I strode across my office that it was one of my snakes seeing as my colleagues knew my routine; a routine that never changed. I taught my classes during the day, graded papers from the end of my last class to the beginning of dinner and brewed potions until I was too tired to stay awake any longer after dinner.

The irritation at being interrupted turned in to shocked dismay when I opened the door to see Healer Madame Poppy Pomfrey on the other side of the door. Her worried expression confirmed my suspicions at why she was knocking on my door. Once again the yearly checkups had found a child who suffered abuse at the hands of their guardians. There was always a small part of me that wanted to weep at such occurrences, that was the part of me that loved Lily Evans with everything I am. It was the part that would always love Lily.

I invited her into my office with a wave of my hand and went to the bookshelf behind the desk. I pulled on 'A Compendium of Potions' and the whole shelf swung forward revealing my apartments. My sitting room always made me smile; it wasn't done in green, silver and black as most believed. No, Lily had helped me decorate it on one of the few times she had been allowed out of the house in Godric's Hallow. We had argued half the time about what colors to use, how much magic she should do considering she had been pregnant at the time and about how I spoke to the house elves.

In the end we had agreed on dark brown furniture so I had two chairs, one couch and a desk chair done in mud brown leather, the carpet was a delightful navy blue and the walls were done in a cream paper that had subtle patterns of whorls and stars in it. I had a wall of glass that looked out into the lake, all you could see right then was lake grasses and water, but occasionally I got a mer-person or fish of some sort. I rang a small bell to signal the house elf staff for tea and turned to Poppy and said

"Would you care to take a seat while I change?" She chuckled and said

"Do you even know why I'm here?" I resisted the impulse to sneer at her; she was one of two people who had always been on my side. It wouldn't do to offend her. Poppy's feathers ruffled easily. Instead I pinched the bridge of my nose and said

"Could it possibly be an abused child?" I winced, that had come out more sarcastic then I had intended. Poppy chuckled and said

"Yes, I should have known you would pick up on that. He is a Gryffindor, and it looks like he's been raped repeatedly." I sighed and slide into my favorite chair and asked,

"So who is the brat?" I looked up when Poppy hesitated and gave her a look, my empathy reared its head and let me know she was torn between wanting to help the brat and fear of what my reaction would be which meant it could only be one child. Poppy stuck up her head and a feeling of grim determination hit me as she said

"It's Harry Potter, Severus." I slouched down into my chair slightly in shock as I contemplated that news. The savior of the Wizarding world had been raped more than once. Even when I was with the Death Eaters I hadn't see brutality in such a fashion; other fashion of brutality yes, but not rape.

Even still my first reaction to the news was a malicious joy. James Potter's son had been humiliated as I had been. Unfortunately, I was also a rational and logical person. Soon after the malicious joy came revulsion and a fierce desire to protect Lily's son from any further harm. I could care less about the Wizarding Worlds Savior. But this wasn't any child, it was _her_ son and that made him more important to me than any other.

If it hadn't been for the need to make sure I didn't lose a possible position if the Dark Lord ever came back at his right side than I would have made sure from the moment that Lily had been murdered that the boy had been properly cared for by whomever he was placed with. I hadn't because the Dark Mark had only faded not disappeared, which meant that the Dark Lord was still out there somewhere.

Poppy was watching me closely and I snapped sullenly

"Fine, I will protect him. But only because he is Lily's son." She nodded and said

"I have him waiting in the infirmary, would you like to do the initial interview now?" I looked over at a picture I had on the wall, it was spelled hidden from everyone but me.

A small photo montage was framed in a complimenting color to the leather. They were all pictures of Lily and I as school children. She smiled out of one of the pictures at me and waved. I had loved her like no other, and would have married her except for the small fact that I had no attraction to her physically.

No, her husband had always caught my eye as far as attraction went. Lily and I had been the best of friends though, and I would do anything for her, even ten years after her death. If that anything included healing her son from the mistakes of the Wizarding World and preparing him for war than I would see that it was done. I would make sure that he wasn't alone in his fight.

I sighed and remarked,

"Let me change into some jeans." Poppy nodded and went to fix herself a cup of tea that had arrived while I contemplated. I walked into my bedroom and went to the closet. I spared a fond smile for the lavender bathrobe that hung from a hook on the door before I pulled down a faded pair of black jeans, a well worn and faded Dead or Alive tee shirt from the shelf and a black cotton button down shirt next. As I slipped out of my teaching robes, Poppy's teasing tone of voice startled me.

"No underwear Severus?" Rolling my eyes I said without turning around

"Obviously not." There was a chuckle as I pulled on my jeans. I turned to her and asked

"Was there something you wanted woman?" This got a laugh out of her as she said

"Not at all, Severus." I did sneer at her this time as I yanked the tee shirt over my head and tucked it into my pants. The button down followed, getting all the buttons but the top three done up. A belt and a pair of black socks completed the outfit as I searched for my shoes. They were found under the bed side by side with the laces stuff inside.

I put my shoes one and tied them up. As I walked out of the room a black blur sped in the open door. I scowled and left the door open. My scowl deepened to a frown as I heard Poppy's chuckle. To cover my irritation I strode from the room, my long stride eating up the distance between my bedroom and the door to my office with no effort. Poppy made her way over to where I waited by the door and proceeded me out.

I allowed myself to be irritated at the fact that I had had to leave the bedroom door open and closed the door to my office after me. Leaving the simple warmth of my apartment was always a shock to my system; my office was exactly what you would expect from a Death Eater and head of Slytherin; Dark, dank, and smelled of the potions ingredients that I keep on one of the shelves. The human eyeballs always gave me the willies and I avoided looking at them as often as possible. Once out of my office Poppy and I made our way quickly up to the infirmary, it wouldn't do for a student to catch me out and about in muggle clothing.

Once at the infirmary, Poppy preceded me into the room and then headed directly for her office. I stood in the door for a moment observing the boy, he was seemingly frail. I almost snorted at that thought; anyone who could survive what this child had gone through was not frail. No there had to be something more to the child that would allow for the kind of strength that it took to keep on living and striving to better his situation.

I shook my hair out of my face and made my way over to the hard plastic chair that was placed between the bed Potter was on and the one next to it. I took a seat there and crossed my legs. I made sure to leave my posture relaxed and as non-threatening as possible. The key to everything was showing Potter that I was not nearly as dangerous as I portrayed myself to be. The muggle clothing would re-enforce that as it showed that I seemingly did something outside of teaching.

In truth I hadn't been out of the castle in almost six years for anything other than buying, gathering or over seeing potion ingredient arrivals, but the brat didn't need to know that just yet. There was a time when I went out. I went out every weekend, hoping to find some way to lose myself. Hoping to forget everything that had happened just for a little while, but after the last time I had given myself an over dose on a drug I still couldn't remember taking I decided that the few hours of oblivion carried too high a price for my tastes. I had set about finding a different way to get a release.

Poppy only knew about the last two cuts I made. She didn't know about the ones that I had healed before she found me. She didn't need to know that I was a weak fool. Poppy didn't need to be disappointed in me yet again. The pride I felt from her when I managed to show up to breakfast on Monday mornings clean, sober, dressed and aware of my surroundings was more than enough to make me feel guilty about even thinking of cutting. It didn't change the fact that I keep a knife clean and sharp on my bedside table, in a box with a hand crafted griffin on the lid.

I shook my head slightly and focused back on Harry Potter, who was waiting on me to make the first move. I tilted my head to the side, opened my empathy and asked as gently as I could

"Do you know why Madame Pomfrey asked me here?" Fear, undaunted fear came off of the boy as he sat there. I had to give him credit though, not a sign of it showed on his face. The only tell I could find was a slight tensing of the shoulders. I waited a moment for the answer to my question. When no answer was forth coming I continued,

"No? Well then I shall tell you. First you are not being sent home, second we know about the abuse and the rape, and third we are here to help you. Madame Pomfrey and I will be working with you to help make sure that you are safe and will not return to us any worse than a few bruises from falling down. Now I don't mean being bullied or smacked around. We know what those look like." Shock was the only emotion I got from the brat for a moment and then anger and fear. The anger made Potter lash out and say,

"My aunt and uncle take care of me the best way they know how sir." Denial was a bad sign, but not uncommon, a sign that didn't bother me; I had done this many times before. Though I much preferred when it was one of my snakes and I could have this conversation in my office though. The infirmary made me uneasy. I opted for a gentler tone as I stated

"I am sure they do, but their best isn't good enough for the Wizarding World, it isn't even good enough for the muggle world. You should know that witches and wizards take abuse of any kind very seriously. Neglecting a child, simply not taking care of it, is a death sentence for us. There are procedures in place for parents who find they aren't ready or capable of taking care of a child and those are there so that no child has to face what you have. Many of the pureblood families ignore these and as such there are a number of Slytherins who come from less than pleasant homes.

But for now what I want you to do is realize that everyone has a secret and some of those secrets influence how they must act when in a public setting. If you can give me a chance I am sure you will understand that who I am in front of a classroom is completely different from the person I am." At his nod I offered a small smile. I was making head way if he was listening to me and taking my words to heart. Madame Pomfrey walked back in the room at that point and said

"Mister Potter, I want you back here and on that bed at nine tomorrow sharp. Do you understand me?" Confusion washed over me as the boy asked

"What for?" I smiled and said

"To fix as much of the damage from the best care your aunt and uncle can provide, of course." I actually chuckled at his gob-smacked expression. Potter blushed sheepishly and said

"I'll be here Madame Pomfrey." She nodded and walked back to her office, probably to finish the report she had started writing. I turned back to Potter and asked

"How do Tuesdays and Saturdays sound to you?" Shock again and then confusion was the only emotions that greeted me. It seemed that the boy was too shocked to remember to fear me, which was good for now. Shock was good, it would help him accept me all the faster. Potter finally found his voice as he asked

"For what?" Shaking my head I said

"I am proposing two nights a week where we will meet and discuss anything you like, it will likely be in a potions lab so our first session will cover lab safety and procedures but I want you to be comfortable with me, and to do that we will need to spend time outside of the classroom together. You can tell your dorm mates whatever you want about the sessions, but you will attend them. They will begin right after dinner. Make sure you bring your homework if you don't wish to talk understand?" The boy looked thoughtful for a moment and said

"Yes sir." I nodded and asked

"Do you have any questions for me?" There was a gleam of mischief in his eye and the emotion washed over me seconds before he asked

"Are you really a vampire?" I was flabbergasted; they were calling me a vampire? I looked at the brat and drawled

"No, I'm allergic to them. In fact most humans are, really. Anything else?" A happy little smile was my only response before a negative shake of the head was presented. I nodded and said

"Very well, let's get you back to your dorm. Come with me." I stood and waited for Potter to gather up his stuff and then led the boy out of the infirmary at a brisk pace. Up five sets of stairs and down a painfully long hallway got us to the painting of the Fat Lady. I nodded to the both of them and made my way back down the hall. As soon as I heard the portrait close I ducked behind a suit of armor and made my way via secret passages down into the dungeons. Once there I changed back into my teaching robes and proceeded to make the seven floor journey one more time. I had two more interviews to do before I was allowed to return to my grading.

I knocked on Minerva's door gently letting her know that I wasn't angry. When she opened the door she seemed surprised but invited me in cordially enough. I took a seat facing her desk and waited for Minerva to settle back behind the sturdy structure before snapping,

"Poppy has transferred one of your students into my care." I watched as Minerva closed her eyes and asked

"Who is it this year?" I gave her a look of disgust and sneered

"That would be Boy-Who-Lived of course; the resident celebrity." Her eyebrows rose as she asked

"But what about the blood wards? They would only work if the boy had been accepted as family." I nodded and grated out

"I know, and so should Albus." Minerva gave me a queer look. So I stated,

"I wanted to let you know that I'm not going to allow the boy to become another Riddle and I was wondering if I would have your support." That statement got me another queer look. It wasn't often that I asked for help, let alone ask for support with healing a child. She nodded and asked

"What would I be supporting you in or who would I be supporting you against?" I smiled grimly and presented my case,

"As you know the headmaster firmly believes in the blood wards that are supposedly around the Dursley's. But as you also know blood wards will only work if the family member is accepted into the family. I have no doubt that the brat might have been accepted originally, but something changed. I'm willing to bet that it was an accidental magic that did it. Tuney never did get over the fact that Lily could do something she couldn't." Minerva sighed and looked every bit her sixty six years of age. She nodded and said

"You have my support Severus. It's well known that those who you take under your wing leave in a much better state then when they arrived. Keep me posted?" I sneered

"As ever, Minerva." She sighed again and I showed myself out. The last image I had of her was of bleak acceptance. I hated to be the one to destroy her high opinion of Dumbledore, but I wasn't about to allow him control over the boy. Potter needed someone who would be there through everything, who wouldn't stand for his shit, who would give him rules and boundaries and expect that those rules and boundaries be upheld. The child didn't need to be encouraged to go gallivanting off and breaking rules as his father had.

I forced the thought of the boy's father from my mind and made my way down to the headmaster's office. This would be a conversation that I dreaded every time it wasn't a Slytherin who came through beaten to a pulp.

I stopped before the gargoyle guarding the stairs to the headmasters' office and gathered what little bravery I had to my name. I had courage in abundance, but bravery was for fools. Slytherins were cunning and sly. No Slytherin would walk boldly into a situation unless they had a trusted friend waiting in the shadows to accomplish the task they were being a distraction for.

But dealing with the headmaster was always left to me, because Poppy had no patience for it. She believed that the damaged children should just simply be turned over to her, creating a fifth house as it were. I disagreed with that sentiment. The children wouldn't heal if they were secluded. The house system was flawed enough as it was, no need to further complicate matters. I ground out the latest insane password, "Mounds."

At the correct password the gargoyle hopped aside and I ascended to the headmaster's office on the rotating stair. The main office door was open so I stepped in. Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen so I walked over to Fawkes and ran my fingers gently through the birds crest. A soft cooing sound was my reward.

I felt the headmaster before I could actually hear him or see him. I felt the headmaster as he observed me with Fawkes and turned just as the man made his way down the stairs from the upper level of the office. Dumbledore smiled benignly at me as he made his way to his desk and took a seat. He nodded at me; I returned the nod with a nod of my own. Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk and said

"Severus, what a pleasant surprise, would you care to take a seat?" I nodded again and took one of the less heinously colored plush chairs in front of the desk. Dumbledore nodded and asked

"Would you like a sherbet lemon or tea?" I sighed and said

"As long as it is just tea I would like a cup very much." Dumbledore nodded and prepared me a cup of tea. I took it and sipped at it slowly. Waiting for Dumbledore to ask for the reason I came to see him. I didn't have to wait long.

"So Severus my boy, what brings you to my humble office this evening?" I almost smile, but opt for sneering at him instead and said

"You know my reason." Dumbledore nodded and said

"The first year checkups were done this afternoon. How did those go?" I sneered again and said

"A record low apparently, only two children entered the halls abused." Dumbledore nodded and said

"You will be taking them under your wing no doubt." I nodded and said

"It is what I have done for six years now is it not?" Dumbledore nodded and said

"I am sure you know what is best for them, my boy. May I inquire as to who these two students are?" I nodded and said

"Of course you may inquire, but you can only have the answer if I get your word you will not interfere with either child during the course of their Hogwarts career."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and regarded me with open curiosity and speculation. I brought up my Occlumency shields. It wouldn't do for the headmaster to figure out the secret before I could make sure he wouldn't stick his fingers where they didn't belong. Dumbledore ran fingers through his beard in thought before stating clearly.

"I give you my word as a wizard I will take no more involvement in these two than I have any other abused child regulated to your care." I nodded, that would have to do. I braced myself and said

"Slytherin Draco Malfoy is emotionally and psychologically neglected, no signed of true physical abuse and Harry Potter has been abused physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically. There are also signs of repeated rape." I watched the color drained from Dumbledore's face as I relayed the news his savior was likely going to become a muggle hating Dark Lord if steps weren't taken. Steps I was already in the process of taking. Dumbledore looked at me and said

"It's not really that bad is it my boy?" I merely gave him a condescending look; Dumbledore took off his spectacles and laid them on his desk as he rubbed a hand over his face. I watched as the man visibly pulled himself together and ask

"You will take good care of him? Make sure he gets the training he's going to need?" nodding I refrained from rolling my eyes and stated

"First step is the same with any other student, get them to trust me. I have setup Tuesdays and Saturdays as our session days. I informed him that he is required to attend them. I believe that Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger would also benefit from attending these sessions but I think that is a development to be discussed at a later date." Dumbledore nodded and asked curious

"Why Ms. Granger? She passed through the exams without any detected abuse correct?" I nodded and said

"She is mostly incapable of interacting with her peers." Dumbledore nodded and said

"If that becomes the course of action, I recommend another student to give you an even number. I have a feeling that these students will get extracurricular training that will benefit them if another war is to break out?" I smiled grudgingly and said

"Combat dueling was one of the skills I was considering teaching them." Dumbledore chuckled and said

"I see no reason why not too. Leave the Dark Arts out of it if you would? If it works out well we could discuss making it a course here at Hogwarts. It's about time we had something new to offer students." Dumbledore dismissed me with a wave of his hand and I made my way back to the dungeons and to my grading. Hopefully I could get some more work done before dinner.

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And another chapter done, I haven't decided who I'm going to show next so it might be a little while. The rough draft that gives me starting points only goes to here. Hope you all enjoyed!

LittleFuzzBall


	4. Harry Potter

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

Author's Note: So I didn't like how this chapter and Ron's chapter turned out so I have rewritten them. Hopefully they will enlighten you wonderful readers into who they are just a little bit better than the previous versions did.

Also Hermione's chapter has been updated to reflect the changes in this one, it wasn't rewritten though.

Enjoy!

~*~ Harry Potter ~*~

So you see what I'm talking about, about my world being turned upside down? Not just once, oh no, but twice? First when I entered into the Wizarding World and then again when Snape turned out to be like human? I mean come on, does anything normal ever happen to me? The answer to that question is a resounding no. That on the other hand is a different can of worms, if you know what I'm talking about.

My world being turned on end over and over again didn't stop the fear that the good professor just wanted to get me alone so that he could torture the information about my home life out of me or something. I have to tell you, the sight of his office that would scare any sane person. Thankfully I'm not sane. So they tell me. Who are they, all these people who have opinions with no faces, you know? It's like a secret society where everyone has a say but no one knows anyone else; creepy really. The professor, he hates it when I call him that thankfully wasn't demented or anything and just wanted what he said he wanted; to get to know me away from the pressures of everyone else.

That doesn't seem too bad now does it? Yeah, I didn't think so either. I digress again though. What was I suppose to be talking about? Oh yeah, the professor's office. Creeps-ville is what I would name it if I was allowed to give random places nicknames like that, but alas I've been forbidden after I had that run in with the Basilisk, I did try to get the professor to let me keep it and name Cecile. As you can guess, Snape didn't go for it. After killing the damn thing I don't blame him either.

Off topic again, whatever am I going to do with myself? So the professor's office was what you would expect from the man who seemed to live to torment children. It was Dark, and by Dark I mean it's a good thing Umbitch never searched it, because the man would have gone to Azkaban simply on the fact that he has a jar of human eyeballs sitting on one of his shelves. No joke, he let me poke them once. Personally I don't know why he keeps them, it's not like they are any good in potions. Human body parts are generally about as usefully to a potions master as a man eating plant is to a transfiguration master, oh wait that might actually be useful, well give the plant to the merfolk then. You get my point.

So I went down to his office the first time, he let me sit there for what seemed like an hour, I think it was actually like fifteen minutes. Apparently the man runs on a tight schedule and deviating from that schedule causes him indigestion or something. I don't know. All I know is for our first meeting I had to wait on him to finish grading papers. Once that was done he led me out of the office, a relief to my small pitiful eleven year old brain, and took me to a deserted hallway. I figured that was the end of me, that he was going to torture me, maybe do me like my uncle did, and then he would simply kill me. Everyone told me that the professor ate babies for breakfast, so why not eleven year olds for dinner. Made sense to me, I wasn't very bright yet you'll have to excuse me.

He didn't eat me, as you know since I'm writing this incident down years later. No, all he did was take me into a potions lab, the tables were really high and the cauldrons all squeaky clean. The professor showed me around, pointed out how to recognize which ingredients were used in my year and which were highly dangerous and should never be touched without his supervision. He showed me where he kept the knives, the stirring rods and spoons, the mortar and pestle, everything that a potions student might need in that lab. He then gave me a tall stool and showed me where I could sit and do homework. It was weird, after the grand tour he took out ingredients and got to work on brewing a potion of some sort. All I can remember now is it smelled vaguely like burnt chewing gum and was a rather attractive shade of puce. I have little doubt that it would have tasted a bit like Dudley's old gym socks. For that first night I just watched him work, it was amazing. I could see why he was a potions master. I mean truly, the man is brilliant at potions. He would look up and ask me some mundane question, focus completely on me and then turn back to the potion at seemingly just the right second.

I just couldn't wrap my tiny little brain around the fact that he was asking, in a tone that showed he was completely curious as to what the answer would be, what I thought of my classes, my dorm mates, even the food and teachers. I asked him about it weeks later and his answer was one that seemed completely honest. The professor told me that the most honest opinion of a class was a student, and no stuffy ass licker from the ministry would be able to give an honest opinion of the curriculum because they weren't the ones who had to learn the material. At the time I had shaken my head and chalked it up to grown up matters. Now I can look at that and see the truth in the statement. Teaching the same material year after year gets boring, so changing it keeps the teachers from killing either themselves or the students in a fit of rage.

That night was the turning point of my entire life. Well the first one I guess, I've had a lot of turning points. But that's what happens when you are a mass celebrity like I am. I learned that night that Severus Snape wanted to get to know me, that he had known my mother and thought harming a child ranked about as high on the list of desirable things to do as screwing some poor helpless animal. That is to say, not very high at all.

My next turning point was several weeks later, on Halloween in fact. You see after that first meeting with the professor I became highly serious about my studies. I wanted to help people, save lives. I was going to be whatever the Wizarding Worlds version of a doctor was, so I studied. Through the professor I learned how to use the library.

Madame Pince was a crafty old woman; she had the library arranged in three sections. There was the completely useless and might as well have been written by muggles section, which predictably was nearest to the doors of the library. Set there so that all those who weren't _that_ serious about books could use them and she wouldn't have to worry about needing to replace something that was actually worth something. The next section was just behind that, separated with a row of tables for people to study at, and was moderately useful. This was where you would find the Ravenclaws more often than not, silly bookworms. The highly useful were at the back and through a door that was cleverly hidden by a bookshelf. In that room there were the books that eventually helped me develop my master's thesis. Here you would usually find several of the older Slytherins completely engrossed in whatever musty tome they had their nose buried in. I had some trouble the first few times I ventured back there, but as soon as they learned that the good professor, and had double checked the information, had told me how to get there I was left in peace.

Those first two months my only real problem was finding time around classes, meetings with the professor and Quidditch in which I could do my homework. There were also the obsessive amounts of time I had to spend to lose Hermione in the main library. The girl just wouldn't take a hint. I think she was obsessed with befriending me or something. I later found out that she had her sights set on me because I was the only other Gryffindor that spent as much time if not more time in the library as she did and she thought that if nothing else we could be study buddies. I was unimpressed to say the least. What did I want with a girl so eager to prove herself that she knew everything that she got house points deduced? Furthermore, what use did I have for a girl? I was eleven; girls still had cooties. I am pleased to report though that my evolution to a hormone driven, over sexed teenaged male is proceeding quite nicely.

And then that disastrous Halloween happened, you know the one with the troll. Where I distracted the thing from its back, my worthless wand stuffed up its nose and Ron _finally _managed a successful levitation charm on the beasty's club and knocked the stupid thing out by dropping said club on its thick skull. Hermione then lied to McGonagall about the entire thing.

Every time after that where I told her to piss off I felt a little guilty. I eventually gave up and let her study with me. From there she was like a tick or something. She just got under my skin to the point where I didn't go anywhere without her. I even took her to the professor with me. As the weeks went by she became my closest friend, closer even then the professor. There were things that Mione and I talked about that I would never have told the professor.

As it was it was Hermione who helped me with my magic that is until the professor learned of my difficulties. From then on he and I had specialized lessons on Sundays that eventually turned into Dueling lessons for Mione and me. She later helped me research torques and helped me develop one that would help me focus my magic in a way that a wand wouldn't allow. She has always been there, standing beside me, never wavering, even Ron wasn't there.

The end of first year came with the murdering fuck head attempting to kill me, yet again. I saved the day, with some help. Because let's face it, I never would have made it to the chamber with the stone without Ron and Mione, well more Mione and then Ron. He got knocked out by the chess board after all.

After that came the end of the school year and the promise from the professor that he would have me out of the Dursley's by the end of two weeks, no longer. When the Weasley boys showed up and sprung me from the smallest bedroom I thought that had been what Snape meant. I came to find out later that he had been planning on adopting me so that I wouldn't have to ever go back and that the Weasley boys had completely ruined his careful plans. This of course began a string of peccadilloes between Ron and the good professor that never ceased to amuse me when in private with Mione.

That summer, while starting out the worst turned into one of the best ones I had ever had. The Weasley family was great, I was given a cot up in Ron's room and we did wizarding things all the time. I don't think there was a day that went by that we didn't go flying or worked at de-gnoming the gardens. Mrs. Weasley didn't allow me to help with the dishes either, though sometimes she would let me help her by drying. I was forbidden from doing anything but enjoying myself.

That spectacularly relaxing time of goodness ill-prepared me for the shit that started as Ron and I tried to get on the training home. In all honesty it started when Dobby got me locked in the smallest bedroom for underage magic.

I have never been one to panic, but when Ron and I couldn't get through the barrier of platform nine and three quarters that's exactly what I did; completely and utterly panicked. If I had been in my right mind I would never have agreed to drive a flying car to Hogwarts, but I wasn't so we did. I have to say it soon became one of the worst decisions I have ever made regarding Hogwarts. There is nothing like crashing in to a living tree, breaking branches and then having the nerve to think that the tree is unreasonable because you pissed it off by crashing a flying car into it. Snape was absolutely livid when he spoke to us later. We didn't have a meeting for several weeks as I allowed him to cool off from my stupidity. When we did have a meeting again the first thing he did was make me write a paper on why I thought it was a good idea to fly a car to Hogwarts instead of waiting for adults to correct the fact that we had missed the train. It's not like children hadn't missed the train for one reason or another before, he said. That memory always makes me smile; it was the first moment that I realized that he wasn't mad at me for being stupid he was mad because I was important to him. He was scared that he would have failed at protecting me, even if that meant protecting me from me.

Mione apologized to me later for him being awful and I shocked the shit out of her when I smiled and told her that it was ok because he wasn't really mad at me. She had shaken her head and I had told her that if I had had a choice I would have wanted Snape for a father because he was simply the best. Oh the naivety of twelve year olds.

From that point on it wasn't as hard to talk to him about personal things, like hearing voices in the walls. The professor took it all in with seemingly a grain of salt, though I heard him mumbling to himself about what he was going to do with a child who heard voices in the walls. He and I had a long talk about my parents, the war and the evil mass murdering fuck head who wanted me dead and my head mounted on a wall. It was the first time that someone sat me down and really covered just about everything about me that no one could find the rocks to tell me about themselves.

The conversation with Snape made the meetings with the Headmaster that much more confusing. I could tell the old man knew things about me, knew that he had stories about them that no else did and yet he kept all of that from me. He even kept the information about the mass murdering fuck head away from me. I know I was a kid but somehow me not understanding why I needed protection seems like it would cause more problems than it would solve.

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Review Please! I worked really hard on this one and I would really love to hear all of your thoughts on how it turned out!

Thanks!

LittleFuzzBall


	5. Ron Weasley

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

Author's Note: So I wasn't happy with how this chapter came out originally, so it's been rewritten!

Enjoy!

~*~ Ron Weasley ~*~

I knew when I met him on the train that I would never be his equal, no one could be equal to Harry Potter. It didn't bother me really. He didn't make fun of me, offered to share and sided with my over Malfoy. Life was good; I was going to become famous standing beside him, Harry Potter's best friend. The one and only sidekick to Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived, Savior of the Wizarding World

Things were great for the first year, he was my best friend and everyone knew it. We went just about everywhere together. We got into trouble together. We even got detention together. The life of Ron Weasley was great, even if it was spent in the shadow of on Harry Potter. Though I did have my moment when I saved him and Hermione from the troll that Halloween; until Hermione ruined it, by lying about the entire thing. Why couldn't she have just stuck to the truth? I decided that it didn't matter, I had done something none of my brothers had. I rescued Harry Potter.

Harry getting a spot on the Quidditch team rankled a bit, the first, first year in over a hundred years to make a house team as a starter. First years were sometimes allowed as reserves if they were extremely good. I didn't kid myself and even try out. I knew I wasn't good enough to make the team, not in first year at least. I also knew that even if I did make the team I would have been flying on one of the schools brooms, and the schools brooms were old, outdated and falling apart more often than not.

I was rather upset at myself when I got knocked out during the chess match because it meant that I wouldn't be there at the end to see Harry get the philosophers stone away from Snape, though it was later learned it wasn't Snape at all but that funny smelling Quirrell. Defeating the chess set did earn me recognition in front of the entire school, though the excitement of that was dampened a bit by Harry doing better than me. I was the sidekick though, that was my place; even if it did leave a sour taste in my mouth.

After the twins and I rescued Harry from his horrid muggles things were great until the start of school. Harry and I worked in the garden for my mother, well Harry worked in the garden and I goofed off. We played Quidditch, sometimes the twins would even come out and play a game with us. For the most part I had the savior of the Wizarding world all to myself. It was so cool to fly my parent's car to Hogwarts with him; it wasn't so cool to crash into the Whomping Willow and my wand basically got snapped in half. And it really wasn't cool that he was a Parselmouth, but he's Harry Potter the savior of the Wizarding World and I had insinuated myself into the ranks of sidekick. There was no way I was going to give that up; though I was sorely tempted after the whole incident with the giant man eating spiders.

When the Slytherins accused him of being the Heir of Slytherin and opening the Chamber of Secrets Harry and I had a huge row over it, I basically accused him of the fact and he told me to get my head out of my ass. He told me later when I went to apologize about the mandatory meetings with Snape to help him train his odder magical gifts. Boy did I feel like an ass that day. I had let my temper get away from me and almost cost me the most important friendship I could ever make. No one was more important to the Wizarding World than Harry Potter and I was going to make sure that I made it to the top of the world alongside him.

This was why when he came to me asking for help rescuing my little sister from the Chamber of Secrets I didn't even stop to think. Harry Potter asked for my help. We started with talking to Professor Lockhart, we ended up blackmailing him into coming with us down into the Chamber of Secrets. Somehow it just shouldn't be that easy for two second year students to blackmail a teacher, and grown adult, into doing what we wanted. To me that was proof positive that the man was a fraud and didn't deserve to be teaching. As if I needed more reason's after dealing with the man's idea of Defense against the Dark Arts all year. Got to admit though, some of those stories were cool to read.

It shouldn't have shocked either Harry or I when Lockhart stole my wand and tried to use it against us. Thankfully it took the phony professor out instead of us, downside was that it caused a cave in as well. The cave in managed to separate Harry and I. I ended up babysitting the witless man while Harry went on to face the Basilisk.

When everyone was safe and sound, all cozy up in the headmasters office I would get to hear all about the fantastic sounds of battle I had heard, what happened and what I imagined happening were two hugely different things. Harry told it like he was fighting for his life, which simply couldn't be. This was Harry Potter we were talking about. It was inconceivable that he would be fighting for his very life. Though I'll admit that the possibility of a forty foot basilisk coming after me would make me think I was fighting for my life too. Lucius Malfoy was pissed, like royally completely and thoroughly seeing red pissed. I had never seen an adult that mad before. I had seen plenty of kids sure, but never an adult.

I have never figured out why Harry decided to save the house elf from Lucius Malfoy, it almost got him killed, probably would have if it wasn't for said house elf saving his hide. It was worth it to see the look on Malfoy senior's face though when he realized that he had inadvertently given a sock to the abused house elf.

Later that night safely tucked away in the dorms Harry confided in me how scared he had been, and how he had thought that the Basilisk poison was going to do him in. He told me about how he had stabbed the diary to make sure that Ginny made it home safely. He wanted to make sure that someone could tell his story about how he fought hard to save the life of a fellow student. He wanted to make sure that she got out safe because she had a family and they had to be worried about her. He told me that he was sorry it had been so close. Sometimes I just don't understand him. He's the savior of the Wizarding World he should be asking us to kiss the ground he walks on, not apologizing to blood traitors.

That night rocked my world, I couldn't believe that Harry Potter seemed just as human as I was in some ways. In others it was like I was merely a monkey and he was the super evolved human. He was still the most powerful person that I had ever met, without even mentioning his fame. It seemed like it was only the next day that they woke Hermione and the others up and they returned to life as we all knew it. I never stopped thinking about that night though, Harry Potter had confided in me. I was the sidekick and I wasn't going to be replaced by anyone.

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Let me know what you think! Please? Pretty Please?

LittleFuzzBall


	6. Hermione Granger

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

Author's Note: I'm not sure I like this chapter; it doesn't seem to have much personality. Let me know if you agree with me…

And back to the show!

~*~ Hermione Granger ~*~

I was so out of my depth when I got to Hogwarts, it was so much bigger then my last private school. I was so nervous as well, I had been dreaming of going to a new school for several years, even begging my parents to send me somewhere else so I could start over and maybe make some friends. They hadn't agreed, until my Hogwarts letter arrived.

I was ecstatic, a chance to show people I was more than just books and brains. I'll admit I failed rather spectacularly at first. I had no idea who Harry Potter was to the Wizarding world; he wasn't mentioned in Hogwarts A History. All I knew about him was that he got better grades then me, seemingly without trying, so I followed him and bugged him whenever he was in the library. He was from a non-magical home too, so we had something in common. I just knew I could show him there was more to me than an annoying know-it-all.

Harry mostly wanted nothing to do with me, but I didn't let that deter me I wanted a friend so badly that I would do anything to make one and I had set my sights on Harry. It wasn't until Halloween that I overheard him and Ron talking about me and how much of a busy body I was that I realized that I wasn't succeeding at gaining a friend. But then the whole episode with the troll happened and I keep both of them out of trouble with McGonagall.

It was like a door opened up for me and suddenly I had two friends. I was closer to Harry than Ron, but still two friends all of my own. It was soon after the troll that Harry and I made peace and started working together in the library. It wasn't long after that where Harry approached me to go talk to Professor Snape with him. It didn't take long after that for him to ask for my help with his spell work. I had a huge eye opener during the first time Harry and I worked on spells, it seemed that he was so powerful that using a wand was actually counterproductive to his learning magic. We spent hours working on spells and mastering them to the point I woke up a number of times performing the charms in my sleep. I seemed to be constantly mumbling the enchantments, something I apparently did while under stress.

What shocked me the most about Professor Snape was that he was really nothing like the man he was while in class. It was enlightening to know that his cruelty in class wasn't because he didn't like teaching, or because he didn't like children but was because he didn't want anyone to get hurt.

It was at that point that I stopped looking for all the answers to my questions in books and started talking to people about things I had questions about. It made me realize that books were great but people were better, I made several other friends with the girls in my year when I stopped looking down at them because they didn't know as much as I did.

When Professor Snape found out about Harry's issues with practical spell work he started teaching Harry how to control his magic. Those lessons eventually lead to the professor teaching Harry and I how to duel. Those lessons were what saved my life more often than anything that Hogwarts ever taught me in Defense against the Dark Arts. The dueling lessons taught me how to look for and exploit my opponents' weaknesses. Draco Malfoy helped a great deal when he was introduced to the lessons. Draco seemed to be a good middle ground between Harry and me in terms of sheer magical power.

Getting to know Draco Malfoy as a person and not a mask was an interesting experience, it made the fighting in the hallways hurt even more for me; it was hard to remember that Draco really wasn't just like all the rest of the Slytherins when he was insulting Ron or me.

Solving the problem of the philosopher's stone seemed so easy after the dueling lessons. Really I was so thrilled that I was able to help Harry rescue the philosopher's stone that it didn't even matter that Ron had come along. It was a rush to be able to use my brains to solve Professor Snape's logic puzzle. I had always excelled at logic puzzles. I spent every moment I could at Harry's bedside after Dumbledore brought him out of the room he had faced Quirrell in. I was so scared that Harry wouldn't wake up again; he had lain so still for two days straight, not even really moving to breathe. It was a huge relief to stop at the infirmary on my way to breakfast and Madame Pomfrey tell me that Harry would be waking up at some point that day.

Madame Pomfrey seemed to know that I needed to be there beside Harry because she let me stay whenever she kicked Ron out. I was unfortunately not there when Harry woke, but I was able to visit him for a long while after the Headmaster was done talking to him about what had happened in the room with the mirror. I would have liked to look at the mirror to see what my true hearts desire was but I figured now that there was no need to protect the stone that the mirror would be moved back to where it had normally been kept.

Harry and I talked for a long time about what had happened and I came to the conclusion that I would work as hard as I needed to so that I would be able to stand by his side when ever and where ever he needed someone to watch his back. We made a pact to always watch the others back. I felt a tingle of magic and recognized that our pact had been accepted by our magic. It only made me more determined to stand beside my new friend.

Second year rolled around and things got weird. Harry was labeled the Heir of Slytherin, he was discovered as a Parselmouth, the Chamber of Secrets was opened, Ginny Weasley was kidnapped into said Chamber of Secrets, Professor Snape added Luna Lovegood to the study sessions, and then a little later to the dueling sessions.

What really got me was that in some of those sessions things began to come out about Draco and Harry that I never would have guessed. I didn't really understand it, but I knew that being kept in a cupboard was wrong. I knew that not being fed regularly was wrong. I knew that being hit with a cane for failing to use the right fork or to walk correctly was wrong. I had grown up with a loving family though and at that point in my life I couldn't truly comprehend what they had gone through, what they still went through whenever they were home.

When I later asked Professor Snape about the few comments that had been made, he said that both Harry and Draco suffered from abusive families and that steps were being taken so that both would be safe during the summers. Those steps hadn't been worked out by the end of the year though, and I worried what might happen to him during the next summer.

Unfortunately I got myself petrified in the second half of school and didn't get to help Harry anymore then providing him with the information about what kind of creature was terrorizing the school, and how it was moving around. Harry later confided in me that if he hadn't known what the monster was that he would have lost the fight altogether and wouldn't have been able to rescue Ginny. That rush of accomplishment ran through me at his words that I had helped him so much.

We had a good laughed over the incident with Lucius Malfoy when Harry had told me about freeing Dobby the house elf and reflected on how different Draco was to his father. They seemed like night to day to each other the way that Harry had described the man; I didn't get a good look at him when we had all been in Diagon Alley to get our books before the start of the year. I took Harry at his word when he said that Draco was the spitting image of his father though.

On the train ride home that year I made him promise that he would write to me every week and that he would make sure to let me know if things got out of hand. I made him a promise that I would make sure he got to Professor Snape at Hogwarts if he said he needed help with the Dursley's. He agreed to write me as often as he could and said that we would make an outing of getting our school stuff once our letters came. It didn't stop my worry for him, but it was all I could do. I could feel in my gut that something big was going to happen that summer, and it would be nothing good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Another one bites the dust, well so to speak. Hope you enjoyed!

LittleFuzzBall


	7. A Taste of Fire

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

~*~ Harry Potter ~*~

The summer after second year was the worst one I had experienced since the start of my Hogwarts career. I rode the train home like normal. Vernon and the family were waiting for me, like normal. My trunk was taken and locked in the cupboard under the stairs, like normal. I was sent to the smallest bedroom to wait for the family to decide what to do with me, like normal. Apparently Aunt Marge was coming for a visit and they wanted to know if I could be shipped off while she was there. If I wasn't around then I couldn't embarrass them in front of the esteemed Aunt Marge.

Aunt Marge was a distasteful creature, consistently drunk and with a love for bull dogs shared by no one else, she and her brother shared one thing above all others. I was there favorite game. While Vernon liked to sell me to supplement his income, Aunt Marge liked to make sure I knew she still had what it took to keep naughty little troublemakers like me in line. It didn't matter if there was a cane nearby or not. She wasn't above taking her fist to my hide. Out of the two Vernon was at least predictable.

Since the Dursley's couldn't figure out how to get rid of me, I was given very specific instructions. As long as I followed those instructions to the letter I wouldn't get the crap kicked out of me. If Vernon got a wild hair up his ass I might even be allowed a meal or two. Petunia made sure that I had my list of chores to do at dawn and that I was diligently working on them by the time Vernon was up.

Things actually went tolerably for a while. I did what I was told, didn't talk back, and didn't even look at anyone while they were in the room. I made sure that I worked my ass off to ensure that I wouldn't need to visit Madame Pomfrey at the beginning of the school year. It all went to hell the night that Aunt Marge got a little more sloshed on her brandy than normal.

You see the snide comments about my parents and how they were worthless I was used to hearing. The comments about me being a good for nothing worthless waste of space, I was also used too. One thing I could not bear to hear from her lips was that I was just a poor pathetic slut whose only purpose was to spread my legs for my betters to repay my debt to Vernon. She'd said it before, it didn't make me see red then, oh I was pissed right good, but a good round of Harry Hunting or garden weeding always put that anger to good use. This time though, this time I was trapped indoors, Dudley wasn't around to provoke in to turning me into a pulp and Aunt Marge hadn't stopped talking.

I have to say, with the way my magic licked out and caught everything around me on fire she was lucky that all that happened to her was that she swelled up like a balloon. It didn't even bother me that Vernon made it well and clear to any who might have been listening that I was never to darken their door step again and they didn't want to see neither hid nor hair of me ever. I can't say that I was upset about this development either.

The Knight Bus was an experience I don't think I'll ever repeat; from what I've heard even apparating isn't as horrid. I didn't really know what to do; I knew that I absolutely couldn't be seen out and about as Harry Potter. So I told them that I was Neville Longbottom and made my way to the Leaky Cauldron. To my everlasting surprise the Minister of Magic was there. He told me a ridiculous story about a deranged godfather out to get me and of what the Ministry had done to make sure that what had happened had stayed a secret and that I was in no trouble but that I should remember that there is no magic allowed outside of Hogwarts and setting my Aunt and Uncles house on fire was not very nice. The Minister also said that a professor would be by in the morning to escort me back to the Dursley's and to have a lovely night on the Ministry.

I was led in a daze up a set of stairs and into room number eleven. As I glanced around the door closed behind me. I dropped my stuff and ran my fingers through Hedwig's feathers before stripping for bed.

The bed was the softest that I had ever felt before, nothing I had ever sat, stood or laid on compared. Though the pile of old clothes that I had slept on once when I had been locked in the basement was comparable. Not even the Hogwarts beds were so nice. With the light still on I slide into a deep restful sleep; the first for a fortnight.

With the dawn came a soft knock on my door. I was up and poised, my hand raised ready to cast whatever spell came to mind. When a gentle brush of magic swept over me, familiar magic; safe magic, I knew that Snape was the professor who had been sent and he had arrived. I took a deep breath and found my pants from the day before and pulled them on as I padded over to the door and opened it. The professor looked like he hadn't slept the night before. I smiled at him and moved out of the way so that he could make it into the room. The professor rubbed his face and said

"I have not had a cup of coffee yet, excuse my snappishness. I promise that it has nothing to do with you." I nod. The professor looks at me and says

"The Ministry has ordered me to escort you home. If you will get ready I will do so. I am under oath to do so." I look down; he couldn't get me out of going to the Dursley's. I take a deep breath and move to gather my belongings back together from the small mess they had made hitting the floor the night before. Gentle fingers raise my chin so I look the professor in the eye; images assault my mind as I make eye contact. A pristine white house far larger than the Dursley's, with sweeping lawns and well tended gardens takes place at the fore front of my mind; with it comes the feeling of being safe and loved. It's definitely a place that I could call home and the professor knows it. Somehow I know that is where we were going; not back to the Dursley's but to that glorious house the professor had shown me. I nodded and tell him

"I'll gather my things, Professor and then we can be on our way." Somehow I also know that what is happening isn't what the Ministry thought they ordered. But I'm sure they didn't use specific enough wording and now the professor was going to sneak me away for the rest of the summer.

The professor led the way down the stairs and nodded to Tom on the way out. I followed looking, as best I could, apathetic about the return to the Dursley's. I figured that someone was watching and listening for the professor to put on an act. There was one thing that I had learned best about Severus Snape. He did nothing without a reason and if you were lucky he would tell you that reason to make everything come into focus.

Once out back of the pub the professor took my arm and pulled me and my things close. He whispered in my ear

"Hold on tight, I'm a little rusty on taking a person with me." I nodded having little idea of what he was going on about. Suddenly I feel like I was being squeezed out of a tube for an endless second before we arrived at what I presumed was our destination. Once the ground stopped swaying I pushed away from the professor and proceed to vomit all over my shoes. I stumbled back and fell on my ass, passing a shaky hand over my face as the professor came to kneel behind me, one arm around me the other stroking through my hair gently, calmly, allowing me to pull myself back together in my own way and fashion. I savored the feeling of being held, I couldn't remember a time where someone had held me.

After taking a number of deep breaths I mumbled that I was fine and was offered a hand up. This time I took the hand and was helped to my feet. Snape smiled down at me and said

"Turn around; we have arrived at Snape Manor. Home to the Snape family since it was built. If you will walk up to the gate I will key you into the wards so that you may go inside. I warn you it's not what it used to be." I nodded and followed the professor's directions as he keyed me into the wards. There was a sharp prick of pain and then the gates were swinging open and a team of house elves were coming out to take my stuff. Snape held a hand up as I stepped forward to help them. I frowned at him and he said

"Come inside the wards and I will explain everything." I nodded and followed him up the path. The gravel under my feet was as white as the house itself. I looked up at Snape and asked

"Why is everything white?" He smiled and said

"It's white because white shows wealth. In ages gone past it was difficult to keep things white, especially the glaring shade of white that my ancestors favored. Now I leave it because it's a part of my history." I nod; the professor didn't seem like the kind of person who would like all that white. The huge doors at the front of the Manor were opened by an eager house elf. Snape nodded his head in passing to the little thing and it about fell over with shock. As we moved across the entrance hall I couldn't help but smile. The room was done in white with blue accents all over the place, in the flowers sitting on a side table and the soft rug under foot. The room was more of a hallway, with three doors off it, finishing its trek in a set of stairs leading up to the next level of the house. Snape turned to the door on the left side of the room and opened the door. He walked in and I followed.

The room was done in navy blue. From the furniture to the carpet everything was either in a dark highly polished wood or a soft navy blue; everything except the walls, which were still stark white. I smiled feeling more at ease now that there was some color around. It was weird to be surrounded by white and only white, it reminded me of when I got locked outdoors when I was younger. It had snowed and I had been uneasy of snow since.

Snape sat down on a chair, a chair I noticed was leather and dyed navy blue to match the rest of the room. I shook my head as I sat down on a couch and waited, watching the professor as he crossed his legs and regarded me with a look I had come to realize meant he was more feeling me then actually looking at me.

Finally the professor shook his head and said

"I'm sorry I did not warn you about the apparation. I was more worried about making sure that I got you and your belongings here in one piece. As I said I'm rusty at side apparation. I'd like to formally welcome you to Snape Manor. As long as you are here nothing from the outside world can come into get you without my permission. Here like at the Weasley's last summer you are forbidden from doing any kind of chores. This is not done so that you feel worthless, here it is done because those chores are the house elf domain and as you saw, they are about tripping over themselves with glee that a Snape has returned to the manor." I nodded and Snape continued

"There will of course be some rules here. You are to be up, showered and dressed and ready for whatever plans have been made for the day by nine, no later. I expect to see you at all meals, which I also expect you to eat. You will be given a room; you are to keep it clean. The house elves will be forbidden to go into that room, though you will not need to keep your bathroom clean. That falls under their domain once again. While here we are not going to let this time go to waste, you are going to do your homework, help me in the potions lab to restock the infirmary and we will continue your dueling lessons." I nodded and ask

"Can I, well I was wondering, is it possible to fly here sir?" He glared at me and said

"I am sir for nine months out of the year Harry, please call me Severus?" I nodded and he continues

"Unfortunately you won't be allowed to fly, but there is an extensive garden that you are free to explore. There is also a very impressive library, which you are free to read through as much as you want. All I ask is that you do not try any of the spells you might find there without talking to me first. Some of them are very nasty and very dark. I have promised the Headmaster that I would not teach you any Dark Arts, you may read about them as much as you please." I nod and state

"Knowledge is power and the more you have the less things are scary." He smiled at me and asked

"Are you hungry?" I blush and look at the floor. The professor's gentle fingers were under my chin again as he said

"You are allowed to be hungry here. I will never hit you and I will never have a house elf hit you. You are safe. No muggle has ever set foot on these premises; the Ministry cannot find the location and Dumbledore can only contact me through the Order brand. I will not allow you to be taken back to your Uncle ever again. Even now a, contact, of mine is ensuring that I have legal custody of you as my ward. I will control everything in your world once that is finished." I smiled and said

"I think, Severus that I am a little hungry." He nodded and said

"I know of your tendency not to eat meat products, is there any reason why?" I blushed and lowered my head so that I wasn't looking him in the eye and started the short tale.

"It was several years ago, I hadn't been allowed a meal for a week and I was about ready to fall over from hunger. The Dursley's had made me cook this huge chicken, half of which was thrown in the garbage. I smuggled some of it into my cupboard under the stairs and when I thought they were all asleep pulled it out and ate it. I had grabbed bones in my haste though and it was as I was sneaking out to pitch them that I got caught. Vernon beat me so bad that time. I was sure that I smelled of blood at school the next day, but no one said anything. I haven't been able to eat chicken since, similar experiences happened with pork and beef as well. But the chicken was the worst." Snape nodded and said

"I would like for you to try and break that habit, but for now we will use soy alternatives to replace the proteins you aren't getting." I nodded and asked

"If I can just eat this soy stuff, why do I need to eat meat?" Snape nodded and said

"Good question, the answer is that Hogwarts doesn't stock soy products because it is so rare for a magical person to be a vegetarian. I suppose that I could bring one of the Snape house elves with us back to Hogwarts, but let's work on getting you to eat some form of meat first. All else fails that's the route we will go." I nodded and asked

"Can we get something to eat?" He smiled down at me and led me into the dining room to start the best summer I had ever accomplished. It was full of hard work, but it was one where I wasn't constantly worried about being caught doing something that I shouldn't. Snape was a stern task master and worked me just as hard if not harder than he did while we were at school, but that didn't matter. I was truly safe for the first time since Voldemort reared his ugly head into my life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Another one down!

LittleFuzzBall


	8. In the Beginning

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

~*~ Founders of Hogwarts ~*~

Nestled in the remote regions of Scotland there was really very little that could touch a school for magical children, even so over the course of a thousand years the world had changed many times over. When the four founding wizards and witches had come together to build a safe haven for children to learn how to control their powers the founders had never imagined that they were doing anything other than building a building. To their dismay and horror in the building process they literally built themselves into the very stones that formed the original foundations. It was many years before they discovered that they aged as the castle itself was aging; very slowly. Without being able to calculate just how long they would survive the four did everything they could think of to sever the connection between themselves and the building. Eventually it drove the youngest of their lot mad. Salazar Slytherin turned on his own family late one afternoon and killed all but one small child; little did he know that his wife at the time had been pregnant. The midwife that had been tending to the poor woman had witnessed the slaughter and was able through an act half desperation half magic able to save the unborn child.

The Goddess Frigg visited the midwife that very night and delivered her a message, a terrible message of death and destruction if the child that now resided in her womb was allowed to live. The midwife begged the goddess to have mercy on the child. Appealing to the mother in the Goddess the midwife's plea was heard and the child's life was spared. In an act of mercy the Goddess blessed the midwife and the child by inscribing her symbol on to their backs on the left shoulder. That blessing rocked the core of the world and changed the fate of man. When the child was born with the raven already on its shoulder the village that the midwife lived in whispered it was cursed. The years went by and instead of the destruction that the Goddess had predicted the child lead a happy and productive life, becoming one of the most influential politicians in the magical world. The Corbin line would carry on strongly until it simply disappeared from the community and the minds of the people.

The Goddess watching over the world never forgot the vision of destruction that she had seen. Because of this she worried and in the end rewove the fabric of the world so that in every generation there would be four children born that would have the power and knowledge to save the souls of the people.

The first time the call went out for the children was in 1573, when the English people in terror and confusion decimated the magical population, and their own in the process, by mutilated 70,000 men, women and children. The children were called together and became known as the Guardians. Two wizards and two witches pooled their magic together and erased all true knowledge of magic from the minds of English people before creating the anti muggle barriers that protected Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and the ministry. This act of selflessness burned through their magic and as a result burned through their minds. At the closing of the casting all that was left of the four individuals was but an empty shell of humanity.

History marched on but thanks to the sacrifice of the first four Guardians little of it impacted the day to day lives of the witches and wizards living in England until a man who called himself a descendant of Salazar Slytherin started to gain power over the citizens. Once more the call for Guardians went out, but to the shock of the Goddess the call went unanswered. To the dismay of the Goddess the four children who were suppose to guard the people had already been mislead by the pitfalls of mankind. One had fallen to the seduction of the darkness, one had fallen to the evil trickster, greed had taken another and the last was so blinded by his own pride that not even the life of his own godson could pull him out of his self absorbed narcissism.

The Goddess in a desperate attempt to stop the events of the world from coming to pass called on the oldest living beings. The Hogwarts founders answered her call. Though they were older than their bodies could handle they still rallied as best they could. It was through their efforts that the curse that was meant for one small child back fired and nullified the darkest power that the wizarding community had ever seen. The Dark Lord was not vanquished, but had been beaten badly enough that the world would have time to lick it's wounds and figure out how to fully defeat the monster.

To the Goddess's dismay the world simply seemed to forget not only the evil that had terrorized them but also the small child that her efforts had saved. She watched helplessly as the child was abused and tormented by those that should have loved him. She wept tears of frustration and anger at the careless disregard of the child she had worked so hard to protect. Watching the small child grow and survive she vowed that the wizards and witches who so carelessly left the child to a fate that wasn't his own would feel her wrath.

In her anger she marked the four children that had the most potential to change the world before they made it to their second year. Two males, one was the brave child she had risked so much to protect and the other was the son of the wealthiest wizard in England and two females, one was from a pair of muggles that would ensure that she was raised properly and the other was the last descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw. She impressed her blessing into each child, a blessing that would remain hidden until the time came that they were needed to save the world from itself.

The Goddess's actions set in motion a prophesy made one dark and stormy night to Albus Dumbledore by Sybil Trelawney. A prophesy that was over heard by one Severus Snape. The witch's words woke up a part of his being that was supposed to protect the land and its people. A part that had been ignored due to the seduction of the Dark Arts he had succumb to many years before that moment. In a daring move the man gave up everything that he had held dear to become a near slave to one Albus Dumbledore. He would grow to become the most influential factor in the second war of the magical land.

I know that I haven't updated this in a while and I apologize profusely for that, but I just haven't had any inspiration, or time, to write. So when the urge to write hit me and I reread this I decided, since I don't have any of my original notes, that I would redo this chapter and kinda start from scratch. I should have another chapter out shortly as well. Kudos to those who are still looking at this story and anyone who has commented over the last year.

LittleFuzzBall


	9. Taken, Broken

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is being made off of this and all recognizable characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and subsequent copyrights and publishers.

~*~ Severus Snape ~*~

It was a normal day, sunny and warm in the middle of July when the death eaters came to Diagon Alley. It happened like all their attacks, sudden, unexpected and devastating.

It started with buildings exploding, then came the screaming as people realized what was happening, then the spells started flying passed in a Technicolor dance of death and pain. When it was all over the silence was palatable, thick enough to cut with a knife. As the dust started to settle it became apparent what they had come for, an even more apparent that the death eaters had gotten what they had come for. Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, had been kidnapped by the Dark Lord. In the distance, a woman started crying.

I had been brewing potions for the infirmary when the news came to me that Death Eaters had attacked Diagon Alley. My heart stopped for one long minute before I consciously took a deep breath and asked the question that I already knew the answer too. He would have been home hours ago if he was still safe.

"Harry?" The face on the other side of the fire got a pained look for just a few seconds before a mask of professionalism washed over the strong features of Kingsley Shaklebolt. It was that moment that my empathy kicked in and told me again what I already knew. I have taken curses to the face that hurt less than the knowledge that the child I had given my word to protect was in a situation that I could do little to assist with.

It was a week before the mark on my arm burned in response to a summons. And it was with more than a tendril of trepidation that I apparated to the Dark Lord's side. Kneeling as soon as I landed I didn't have a chance to see whom else might be in the room. A dark chuckle to my left and behind me slide nearly tangibly across my skin causing me to stiffen in fear. The Dark Lord was at him most unpredictable when he was in a good mood. The sibilant hissing that the Dark Lord used as common speech screaming through my head like shards of glass as he spoke

"Severus, my pet, have you heard the delightful news?"

Kneeling as I was it was hard to judge what the right answer to the question posed to me was. Pulling a deep breath silently through my nose I answered in a voice that I had long ago learned how to control no matter the situation

"My Lord, if you are speaking of the attack on Diagon Alley, I have heard." Another chuckle was my only warning before my nerves light up like a Christmas tree with pain. The sensation of a thousand needles driving through my veins was accompanied by the burning sensation of my skin being on fire. The Cruciatus curse was held for what seemed like an eternity. When it was released all I could do was curl up and gasp for air on the floor. I felt more then saw the Dark Lord stand over top of me. His boot covered toe rolled me over on to my back before he squatted down and looked me over. His face with its slits for a nose and the too large eyes with their red hue swam before me as my eyes refused to focus. Smiling down at me he said

"You are partly correct my pet, it was the attack on Diagon Alley that brought me this news. But it was not the attack that nor its success that is the delightful news. Neither is it the reason why I have called you to my side today. No my pet, my Death Eaters managed to capture the biggest nuisance to our cause. That infernal child who so trumped me when he was just a babe is in our custody."

The glee in that unholy face made my stomach knot and twist. It was all I could do to nod my understanding to his words. The Dark Lord smiled down at me and stood up before walking a short distance away. With his back to me he continued on,

"I know my pet; you think my cruel in my treatment of my disciples. But it is out of love that I push you all so hard to be the very best you can be. That is not the reason you are here, even though it is clear you are forgetting your lessons my pet. I have called you here to figure out what it is about our resident celebrity that prevents me from being able to lay my hands on him. I made sure to gain his compliance before calling you to my side my pet. Lucius is so very good at what he does."

I curled up on to my knees and rasped

"Thank you for this honor my lord." The Dark Lord turned to me and said

"It is an honor isn't it my pet? Do no fail me in this or I will destroy your very being." I bowed my head and replied

"I live to serve." A dark chuckle and foot steps leading away from me were the only answer to my statement. Taking a deep breath and dragging myself to my feet I started to make my way to the detention cells.

The detention cells were just what you would expect to find in any medieval dungeon. Chains on the walls, dank mold growing where ever there was a patch of light bleeding in through the cracks in the walls. The putrid smell of decay and human refuse mingled with the nearly feeling of despair that was nearly tangible to my senses. Reeling at the waves of pain that emanated down the hall from the only living person there, I stumbled my way down the hall. Arriving breathless at the last cell I leaned against the wall as my legs threatened to give out. Between the Cruciatus and the shock of finding a child, any child in the condition that I found Harry it was nearly impossible for me to keep my feet, or my lunch.

Chained to the wall he had been stripped of his clothing. He was still bleeding from a gash across his face, and there were several that had stopped bleeding along his arms, torso and legs. He was filthy and bruised, there were marks that could only have come from spells and others that I knew for a fact came from a common whip. Whispering the pass code that would allow me entrance to the cell I moved slowly forward. The closure I got the more injuries I could see. One leg was at a slightly odd angle, probably broken and one arm was completely out of socket. Looking over the boy I could see the lines of pain etched all along his face. Placing two gentle fingers along his pulse point at his neck I was relieved nearly to tears that the pulse I found was strong and steady. Sucking a breath in through my teeth I tried to figure out how to make the situation better.

As I was staring at Harry bright green eyes opened, one was cloudy with blood but they were sane for the moment. Those eyes locked on to my own and in them I read the torture that he had suffered at the hands of Lucius. The connection that was created was more powerful than it had ever been before, and fear ran down my spine. The natural barriers that protected a wizards mind from the force that was their magic were eroding as Harry's magic worked ceaselessly to heal the wounds that had been inflicted upon his body. Sliding my hand around the back of his neck I squeezed gently before I told him

"Stay strong, I'm here now." Those green eyes blinked at me once before they closed again.

Stumbling away I begged whatever deity that would listen to help me get him out of his cell safely with his mind still in tack.

So I've rewritten this one, and have broken it into two chapters. Hopefully it reads better then my last attempt. Harry's side to come in the next few days, hopefully. It depends on my schedule.

LittleFuzzBall


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